Second Sound Transit tunnel machine emerges

The second of two tunneling machines working on Sound Transit's underground light rail transit route linking the University of Washington and Capitol Hill completed roughly two miles of underground passageway Monday afternoon.

The 21-foot diameter machine, named Balto, came into view at the site of the future LRT station at Broadway and John Street at roughly 2:30 p.m. local (Pacific) time.

The first tunnel, bored through by "Togo," reached Capitol Hill on March 21. A third machine, called Brenda, is digging the second of two one-mile tunnels between Capitol Hill and Westlake.

The three tunneling machines are key construction elements for the $1.9 billion, 3.1-mile U-Link extension of the LRT system from Westlake Center to the station at Cal Anderson Park and the University of Washington campus.